How We Met
by iatethedarknessflame
Summary: Bounty hunter Roronoa Zoro and his accomplice, the Blind Assassin, are the deadliest pair of swordsmen known to the East Blue. Though, some even speculate that the Blind Assassin is just a myth. Only the Straw Hat pirates know her true identity as Crystal, Zoro's unassuming, pacifistic, dainty girlfriend. Still, they don't know much about her. (Following Arlong Park - ZoroXOC)
1. Chapter 1

"Hey Crystal!" Nami called to her blue-haired crew mate. She found the girl in one of those rare moments lounging alone on the forecastle deck of the _Going Merry_. It wasn't often that she was without Zoro.

"Mind if I sit down?" she asked, dropping down beside her.

Crystal returned the gesture briefly with a blank stare before nodding. Nami could bet her next haul that Zoro had whispered some not-so-nice things about her to his girlfriend. They had a mutual brusque relationship - he didn't trust the cat burglar and she didn't appreciate his depreciation of her.

Up until the recent fall of Arlong Park, Nami hadn't felt like she could relax and get to know her comrades on anything but a business level. But now that she was officially a member of the crew, she wanted know more about these people she would be spending some quality time with. She figured the only other girl on the ship would be a good place to start.

Nami knew next to nothing about Zoro's girl. Or Zoro himself for that matter. The two were the first to join Luffy shortly before Nami did herself. Crystal wielded a massive wide blade, making her a swordsman like Zoro. She wasn't nearly as skilled as the master swordsman but deadly in her own right - everyone had just learned that she possessed Devil Fruit powers in the last battle. The Zō Zō fruit granted her the ability to encase her victims in an eternal stone hold, effectively turning them into a stone statue. But, for the life of her, Nami couldn't figure out why Crystal chose to fight blindfolded with a bandanna over her eyes. Not to mention, how did the girl get the blue-tinted X shaped scar across her face? Other than what she experienced, that was all she knew about the petite member of their crew.

"Hey, I just wanted to apologize about before..." Nami began. She could understand why Crystal didn't trust her. Besides the nasty things Zoro probably said, there was also that time when Nami more or less kidnapped her with the _Going Merry_. Not being able to swim, Crystal was at the mercy of Nami's selfish whims.

Crystal was strong, though, and could have probably overpowered the other girl. Apparently, she prefers the pacifistic route and spared both of them the cat-fight. Rather than boasting muscle for the crew, she volunteered to do the menial chores on board to earn her worth.

"Don't worry about it," Crystal cut her off. She gave her a warm smile finally seeming to get comfortable around the cat burglar. "It's in the past now. What matters is that you're our navigator and we work on strengthening the bonds of our team."

Nami always heard Zoro teasing Crystal that she's too kind for her own good and she could see why. Despite what Nami had put them through and Zoro's warnings, she was able to look past that and forgive her. She was also starting to understand how the girl managed to unlock Zoro's soft side, which was otherwise buried deep beneath layers of skepticism, indifference and angst.

"Thanks, that really means a lot to me," Nami commended. "I still don't think Zoro and Usopp completely trust me. I mean, I don't blame them."

"Zoro will come around. Eventually," she reassured, not very convincingly.

"Hey, I was curious," Nami asked, "How did you and Zoro meet? You guys seem to work really well together." Zoro's past was just as much as a mystery as Crystal's.

"Thanks. It's kinda a sappy story, if you don't mind," she warned with a laugh.

"I don't mind at all. You see, I've dedicated so much of my life to my mission, I haven't had time for romance…"

"Nami, dear!" Sanji came swooping in from out of nowhere. "If you're looking for romance, I'd be more than happy to cook you up a romantic dinner for just the two of us!"

"Not a chance," she flatly rejected him.

Finding Crystal in one of those rare moments she wasn't with Zoro, the love-sick cook turned his attention towards her.

"And how about you, my sweet?" he cooed.

"You're so kind, I'm sure Zoro would love it if you set us up a romantic dinner."

His expression slightly soured at the mention of her actual love interest.

"As we were saying," Nami insisted, "when did you guys meet each other?"

"We met about 2 years back..."

* * *

A/N: Hope you liked the intro! The actual story will be posted shortly, I promise. I just had this little idea of Zoro having a girl to temper his wild side. And, in case anyone is interested, I wanted to write it out and share it with the world! This is just an intro to their (and her) origins and there will probably be at least a few other stories featuring the pair. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece

(just had to throw that in there)


	2. Chapter 2

I had just acquired my Devil Fruit powers from eating a tart made from the Zō Zō fruit. I lacked – and still do - control over it since it wasn't as potent as eating the actual fruit itself. Not to mention, only half of the fruit was used in preparation of the dish. After a series of … accidents … I was branded as a witch and ostracized by my village.

It was a quaint farming village where every family worked hard for their living. Day in and day out we would farm, prepare the goods to sell and travel to neighboring markets. They're stubborn and refuse to accept any other way of life. Inventors often pass through with cutting-edge farming technology. My people refuse them every time in favor of back-breaking labor. Which is why my strange and dangerous development became unacceptable to the community and I was forced to leave.

The villagers - the people with whom I had lived all my life - assaulted me shortly after I ate the fruit. It was the middle of the night when they surrounded my lonely house with torches and pitchforks. The witnesses explained that the power stemmed from my eyes. So that's what they targeted first. It was dark, though. And I had woken up when I felt them standing over me. Luckily, they missed my eyes but still, I ended up with this ugly mark on my face. Needless to say, I bolted after that.

I left with nothing but my sword and what food I could grab on my way out. All the money I had saved up was spent on that stupid pastry. The man said it was special and it would make me stronger. That's all I wanted - to be able to wield my wide blade with ease. I tried to take a short cut and paid a heavy price.

For days, I stumbled through the wilderness completely on my own. It was the hottest of summer days and I quickly ran out of provisions. I was scared too, caught in a disgusting paradox of fear. I was terrified of what might find me out there. Feral carnivores? Sickness? Was I being pursued by the people of my village? But I was equally as terrified what I might do if provoked. Sure, I had my sword. But that was when I could barely lift it, much less wield it appropriately. It was the heat, fear and questioning life that drove me to fever and delirium.

And that's where Zoro came in. He found me face-down in the dirt. I was passed out on the side of the road a few miles out of his village. All I can remember was the painfully bright sun feeding my pounding headache and the stinging of my sun burnt skin. There was very little left of me at that point. I had lost the strength and will to press on. It was quite the pitiful sight.

But Zoro carried me back to his home. I was too dizzy and delirious to open my eyes and see my savior and too parched to thank them.

Next thing I knew, I was waking up in his bed. I bolted upright but the sledgehammer headache I had knocked me back down again. Zoro was in the room with his back to me but he said "Idiot, don't try to move." Romantic right? That was the first thing he ever said to me. (But what do you expect from him?)

And then – classic Zoro – he started asking me about my sword. No introduction or explanation. Just: "That's a pretty hefty blade for a pretty tiny girl. Tell me, are you a swordsman?"

I still didn't trust myself around people. One glance and I could murder the man who saved my life. I was still a little delirious and not quite in my right mind so I attempted to flee; attempted being the operative word. The world turned as soon as I stood up so I felt like I was standing on my head. My legs refused to support me after two wobbly steps and I collapsed.

Luckily, Zoro's stellar reflexes kicked in and I collapsed in his arms. There, that's romantic! The arms that held me were soft and warm. It so different from the cold stone that held my victims. The stone that lurked in my nightmares.

Here I was trying to get away from him but I ended up physically closer to anyone than I have ever been (besides my family). I didn't want to hurt him. I didn't want him to reject me.

I adamantly refused to look at him as a weakly struggled in his arms. He just as stubbornly forced my attention on him.

Our eyes locked and I saw nothing but calm and confidence in his firm gaze. It was much welcomed after my life had been thrown into chaotic turmoil.

In that moment, there was only us. I wanted his gaze to lock me away forever. He had me suspended like a mind-numbing drug. This was a high I could ride away from reality.

Uh wait a sec... Did I just describe love at first sight?

Anyways, I knew it couldn't be and I had to break the connection. My power was dangerous and unpredictable. I couldn't say when it would lash out next and I would lose faith in my own humanity if I hurt the person who saved me.

He asked me what I thought I was doing and his voice was so strong and assured. My answer, on the other hand, was not. I burst into tears. And not the cute, watery-eyed sniffles. These were gushing, snotty, ugly sobs. I think this kinda freaked him out so he sat there awkwardly patting my head until I calmed down.

When I could finally speak, I told him everything. I told him my story, my secrets, and my fears. I had spent so much terrifying time alone, I hung onto whatever companionship I could grasp at the moment. Even though I knew I couldn't trust myself to make it last, it was still comforting.

He was so calm and patient through my entire story. The whole time, I expected that the next thing I'd say would make him pick me up and dump me on the street. I was exhausted from the little episode and my weakened condition so I actually fell asleep before I finished my story. I never got to see his reaction to everything I had said.

But the next time I woke up, I was still in his bed. I had expected that I'd find myself on the side of the road where he found me. Because he kept me, I just assumed he didn't believe anything I said. I mean, who would harbor such a dangerous wreck?

He wasn't in the house so I hobbled to the backyard and found him training there. He was ruthlessly battering five of those training things that are people-shaped. I was (as is everyone) absolutely floored by his three-sword style. Just trying to follow his movements was too much for me and I was overcome with dizziness. I lay in the grass and watched the clouds drifting by until he had reduced the figures to rubble and joined me. The sky was robin's egg blue that afternoon and the clouds were puffy balls of cotton - my favorite kind of day. It was nice having someone to share the moment with.

I asked him to tell me his story since it was only fair after I had spilled earlier.

Zoro had lived in that village all of this life. It was a static community - no new faces moved in nor old faces moved out. If a passerby made their way through the village, Zoro was typically too busy perfecting his skills to take notice. Not that he'd really care anyways. So I think, because of this, he was happy to have someone to boast his story to. The people in the village watched him write it; they didn't need it retold to them.

He told me everything too. He told me his past. He told me his plans for the future. He told me that he would become the greatest swordsman in the world. And I believed it just as much as he believed it. Then, he generously offered me the title of second greatest swordsman in the world.

Within just a few days, I was completely back to normal and my strength was returning. It terrified me. I was so afraid of being alone again. Even though my initial ordeal was about 2 weeks long, it was the most hellish, brutal 2 weeks of my life.

During that time, I was afraid of being alone, but I feared more what I would do to anyone I encountered. So I isolated myself. But in that dark isolation, I couldn't escape the nightmares running circles in my head. Images of the familiar faces who assaulted me and drove me out of my home danced across vision every time I closed my eyes. Simple sounds in the forest taunted me. I felt like I had no choice but to never stop running.

At one point, I tore through some blueberry brambles. They reopened the wound on my face, not that it had been healing well anyways, and stained it blue! In case you were wondering why I have a oddly colored mark branding my face.

Even though I couldn't completely escape the nightmares, they were muffled when I wasn't alone.

I practically begged Zoro to let me stay with him. I promised him cooking and cleaning - things that he didn't have time for himself. Not that it affected him in any way, but I remember also bursting into tears at his feet. Pretty pathetic.

But I'll never forget what he said to me. He said: "It's not like the second greatest swordsman can be trained by anyone other than the first."

So nonchalant, as if it weren't even in question.

I spent my days cleaning up the property, cooking actual meals, working a part-time job in town, and, of course, training. It didn't make sense for him for a swordsman to not spend every waking moment sharpening their skills. Honestly, I first picked up that blade so I could learn some tricks and impress the other kids. Of course, he soon showed me the true value of wielding a sword. Now, I'm almost as obsessed with it as he is.

So that's how we lived out our days for about a year. For a village lifestyle, my days were quite fulfilling. I can't picture a better way to settle down one day...

* * *

A/N: I hope you like the story thus far! Thank you so much for reading this far into it. Please leave a review if you have the time; I love feedback, criticism, or to just know what you think. It's pretty much complete but I will be adding one more little chapter to wrap things up. Stay tuned!

Side note, Zō Zō = statue statue in Japanese (according to Google Translate)

If you like this story, I've one other short completed and I am in the process of writing a longer one! Check out _Four Sword Style_ and _Collecting Pirates_ in my profile!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece

(just had to throw that in there)


	3. Chapter 3

"Pretty soon, I couldn't imagine my life without her."

Zoro had joined the gathering partially to hear Crystal's rendition of their memories together and partially to fend off Sanji's unwelcome advances.

"Honestly, I don't know how you were surviving in that cluttered house and off of plates of bare meat," she griped.

"Bare necessities - that's all I need."

"It took me weeks to find an inhabitable house under layers and layers of bachelor life," she explained.

"Let me guess, shortly thereafter, he fell for your exuberant charm and you for his courage and strength so now you two are living happily ever after?" Nami asked. She had to admit, she was a little jealous of their story book beginning.

"Actually, it took about a year or so after we left the village. Up until then, we were just comrades who mutually minded and respected each other. Then we had to rely on each other's strengths and cover each other's weaknesses to survive. That's when we really started getting tangled up."

"Zoro's weaknesses?" Sanji questioningly raised one of those fancy eyebrows.

"One example: After accidentally using poison ivy as toilet paper-"

Zoro quickly clapped his hand over her mouth and muttered something about not remembering that ever happening.

"You two are so cute together," Nami sighed.

"So that's why you fight with a blindfold on, to prevent your Devil Fruit powers from acting out of control." Usopp joined the story-telling session and didn't have much regard for the romantic aspects.

"And to sharpen my other senses. You really don't have a real grasp on how much we rely on our vision until it's taken away. I use my hearing to judge distance and changes in air pressure to detect movement. I'm especially working on my sense of smell for identification. I hope that one day, I'll be able to smell the other half of the statue statue fruit if I can't see it."

"Let me get this straight, you've been training under _Zoro_ for two years, blindfolded, and you aren't dead yet?" Sanji inquired.

"Crystal looks very much alive to me," Usopp retorted.

"Damn." Sanji took a long drag on the cigarette balanced between his teeth. The smoke poured from his lips as he spoke. "You must have nerves of steel and a significant amount of muscle packed in those skinny limbs of yours. So why aren't you ever on the front lines with us? It's good to get real battle experience."

"Because she doesn't need to be," Zoro harshly interjected. "There's hardly a situation that I can't handle myself so there's no need for her to get involved."

Everyone smirked. Beneath his arrogance, he had an undeniable soft spot for her. It was just hidden in the gentle shadows of his personality, just as she hid herself in the shadows during their battles.

"You know, I've heard stories about you two. There are countless rumors floating around the east blue about the great bounty hunter Zoro and his mysterious accomplice, the Blind Assassin. I'm guessing that's you," Nami pointed, turning to Crystal.

"A lot of my training focused on stealth," she explained. "Since I don't pack a powerful punch, I was focusing on agility and covertness. When we started bounty hunting, Zoro would always shove me in an alley and tell me to be stealth. But by the time I had a grasp on the situation, he had usually already finished the job. I rarely had to intervene or even show my face."

"I always imagined that the Blind Assassin was some mystic man born without vision and had magic abilities to turn invisible." As usual, Usopp's conjectures couldn't be further from the truth.

"Nope, I'm actually not blind. Nor am I a mystic man. And to tell the truth, I don't really want to hurt anyone. I don't believe that it's my right to decide if a life deserves to be taken away or not. Of course, if there must be a loss of life, I will do everything in my power to make sure it's not Zoro's."

Crystal had found her morals being strained as they lived their lives as pirates. Never before had she felt that she no other choice but to use her Devil Fruit powers. Their adventure on the sea was just beginning. She got the feeling that as they trekked on, her integrity would take a brutal beating as she would be forced to chose not only between life and death but where to place death. The potency of her icy gaze was a curse she hadn't requested. Every time Zoro rushed into battle, she had the potential to emerge from the shadows and personally write a death sentence to any who opposed them. She felt responsible for the careful balance between life and death on the battlefield. It was a responsibility she didn't know if she could handle.

"Her skills are irrelevant. Like I said, as long as I'm standing, hell, even if I'm fighting on my knees, there's no reason for her to get involved."

It's like Zoro could read her mind sometimes and he never failed ease her worries. They were in it together and just knowing that gave her the strength to courageously face their future.

"Fair enough, young lady," Sanji agreed. "You leave the tough stuff to the men. Though I get the feeling that I can trust you to step in when things really get rough. You've got this edgy vibe beneath that sweet demeanor, am I wrong?"

"I will intervene as necessary to protect my friends," she confirmed.

"Good enough for me," he smirked, taking a slow drag on his cigarette.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading to the end of my story! I hope you liked it. If you did, there will be more coming featuring my OC so stay tuned :)**

 **I have a one-shot posted (find it in my profile) featuring my OC so check it out if you liked this one! The title is _Four Sword Style_.**

 **Please leave a review letting me know what you think!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece**

 **(just had to throw that in there)**


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